Scoutmaster Musings

Winter Hike

A Tenderfoot has been trying to find time to complete his Second Class 5-mile hike requirement since September. With his involvement in sports, poor weather, and whatnot, we finally got it done yesterday. None of his buddies needed the requirement and he couldn't get any to join him, so it was him, his dad, and myself - poor scout stuck with a couple old guys for 2 hours. But, with 21 degrees and beautiful blue skies, it was a great hike.

He had an aerial map of the park with hiking trails and ski trails marked. I asked him where we were on the map and then asked him to take us to a creek on the map so we could see if it was frozen or not.After we discovered that creek and that it was emptying the lake, I asked him to take us to the creek that feeds the lake. Finally, I decided I would like to play a game of snow baseball so he took us to a ball field and then back to the starting point.

Along the way, he oriented the map a half dozen times, figured general direction without his compass, learned and then demonstrated triangulation, figured distance traveled using a map scale, and discussed general winter safety as well as crossing frozen water.

We even tried out my cardboard eskimo sunglasses I made yesterday morning. They aren't a great fashion statement, but they sure cut out the snow glare.

When you have just a couple scouts around, you can pass on a ton of skills, tips, experience, and knowledge, so be ready for those great opportunties.